
South Rome Redevelopment Corp. board members review a proposed budget for 2013 during their meeting Tuesday night at the office at 119 S. Broad St. Bill Kerestes (from left), Daniel Foster, Wright Bagby and Sam Moss are all seated at the table, while Jackie Jenkins and Assistant City Manager Sammy Rich watch from the background. (Doug Walker, RN-T.com)
Executive Director Melissa Jones said the proposal — from an unnamed developer — is expected to be submitted to her office by Friday. She said she had been talking to several potential developers but only one has offered as many as five different scenarios for enhancing housing across the South Rome community.
“The others were not true partnerships,” Jones said. “Some of them didn’t want to put in the work.”
Board member Ralph Davis said he hopes the next time the organization calls for proposals that other groups will be more aggressive in their commitments.
“We’re not desperate to do everything for them,” Jones said.
Lynn Ray and Odell Battle were nominated to fill vacancies on the two South Rome boards — the SRRC and the South Rome Redevelopment Agency. The agency is an arm of the Rome city government; the corporation is a private nonprofit.
Ray will serve as the Etowah Terrace representative and Battle will represent the Hillsboro region. Both names will be submitted to the Rome City Commission for approval.
The South Rome boards will host a series of focus groups to discuss the early learning and adult education centers that will be housed in the new Anna K. Davie Elementary School. The agency is seeking public input on the programs, which are still in the developmental stages.
Meetings on the early learning program for children from birth to three years of age will be held today at 10 a.m. and Thursday at 4 p.m. at the South Rome agency offices, 119 South Broad St.
An adult learning program meeting will be held today at 4 p.m. at the South Rome office — and a special meeting to discuss both programs, designed for members of the Hispanic community, is set for Thursday at 2 p.m.







